Much Loved: Quirky and Nostalgic Portraits of Teddy Bears

Photographer Mark Nixon has created a trove of quirky and nostalgic portraits of teddy bears and other stuffed animals that have been lovingly abused after years of play. Much Loved, which launched just last week, collects 60 of these images along with their accompanying background tales.

About the author Based in Dublin, Ireland, Mark Nixon has twice been named Overseas Photographer of the Year (British Photographic Awards) and has also been named Irish Photographer of the Year (Irish Professional Photographers Association).

“When everything was u own, they were there Where anything could h en, they were there These repositories of hugs, of fears, of hopes, of tears, of snots and smears. Alone at night, they were the comforters, when monsters lurked in darkened corners, when raised voices muffled through floors and walls. These silent witnesses, these constant companions, defenders of innocence. Their touch, yes, but their smell, that instantly calming, all embalming musk, unique to each, soothing and smoothing the journey from consciousness to un, from purity to im, from infancy to adult-terre. Sworn to secrecy, unconditionally there, unjudgementally fair and almost always a bear.”